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Wednesday, December 22, 2010

An exercise in staying calm

A couple posts ago, I told you how I was planning on having a print made of Craftily Ever After's Keep Calm and Merry On sign. Well, I did. And I had planned to slide it right into the frame Capricious gifted me with that held the Keep Calm and Gobble On (Just typing that makes me laugh) version she had made for me. What I didn't realize is that Miss Capricious is one fancy, detail-oriented lady (OK, I did realize this because she's my sister and usually it drives me nuts). Not only was her print an 11x16, she had had it printed on poster board.

It wasn't until I got to Costco and was waiting to check out that I realized there was no way my 8x10 was the same size. It was tiny in comparison. And glossy, like a Polaroid picture! Drats! I drove home determined to make it work. For one thing, the 8x10 print only cost me $1.70. Who can beat that? For another, I hate hate hate standing in line at Costco. (Seriously: How do Costco lovers do it? The deal just doesn't seem worth the chaos. Am I missing something?)

But never fear, because Capricious is here. The woman is like Super Woman. She once dawned a cape in college (I have a picture to prove it), and it's something I think she should wear everyday. When I told her what I did and how it wouldn't look as fantastic as her print because of the size, her answer was simple: Do a wrapping paper background. It'll make it pop even more.

Turns out I didn't have some fantastic wrapping paper that would complement that burgundy, almost brown of the print. But not all was lost: I happened to have a giant book of Christmas scrapbook paper with that very color. After holding up a few pieces and consulting you know who, a new sign was born and salvaged. And I just did as the poster said: Keep Calm and Merry On. The end result is fun and adds a bit of funky to my otherwise elegant mantel. I added a glittery snowflake to the top that I found at Target, four for $1. Love me some glitter this Christmas!

P.S.: Sorry for the crappy quality of pictures. My camera, an Olympus Stylus 710, is a sorry excuse for a camera. Next month we plan on purchasing a DSLR, just in time to record those monumental moments with the bambino. Until then, I'm keeping calm and snapping on.